Railroad-switch



(No Model.) 2 Sheet s-Sheet 1.

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RAILROAD SWITCH.

No. 320,982. Patented June 30, 1885.

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

- J. R. STEPHENS.

RAILROAD SWITCH.

No. 320,982. Patented June so 1885.

NITED STATES PATENT -rrrcn.

JOHN RITTENHOUSE STEPHENS, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

RAILROAD-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,982, dated June 30,1885.

Application filed January 22, 1885. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN R. STEPHENS, of Portland, in the county ofMultnomah and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railroad-Switches; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in railroad-switches.

The joints between the ends of the switchrails and the ends of the mainand turn-out rails are liable to open by the creeping away of the mainand turn-out rails, or to close and compress the switch-rails, causingthem to buckle, by the action of heat and cold. To relieve theswitch-rails of the pressure thus exerted, and to prevent the opening ofthe joint, and the consequent battering of the ends of the rails, hashitherto been deemed of sufficient importance to occupy the attention ofseveral inventors, who have made attempts to overcome the difficulty invarious ways. One of the most successful of these attempts is that inwhich the head and foot chairs have been bound together bybars or rods,the ends of which have been bolted to the chairs.

The object of my present invention is to provide improved means forbinding the ends of the main and turn-out rails at the head of theswitch and the fixed rails at the foot thereof together, whereby theymay remain constantly the length of the switch-rail apart, a furtherobject being to provide head and foot chairs of novel construction,whereby the ends of the several rails may be locked in a convenient andsecure manner against both lateral and longitudinal displacement, and tofurther provide switch and check rails of the same length, and means forcompensating for expansion and contraction; and with these ends in viewmy invention consists in certain features of construction andcombinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a switchembodying my improvement. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detached view of one ofthe head-chairs and rails located thereon. Fig. 3 is a similar view ofone of the foot-chairs; and Fig. 4 is aview in side elevation, partly insection, showing the manner of securing the check-rails to theheadchairs.

A represents the main track; B, the head block, and O the foot-block, ofthe switch.

a a represent the switch-rails connected by the bridles b, and operatedby the connectingrod 0 in the ordinary manner. I

The head-chairs D are similar in construction, (excepting where thecheck-rails are both located on the outside,) and consist of abaseplate, cl, provided with depending flanges or lugs E, adapted to lipover the edges of the head-block B, and thereby prevent the chair fromdisplacement thereon in the direction of the length of the rail. Theplates (1 of the head chairs D are provided with upwardly-extendingelongated lugs or abutments e, adapted to conform to the shape of one ofthe rails below the tread, are further provided with theupwardly-extending lugs F, which extend about one-half across theplates, and are shaped on their sides to conform to the curve of therails A and G, the ends of which are secured snugly to the lugs F onopposite sides thereof by the draw-bolts f. They-are also provided withupwardly-extending lugs 9, adapted to determine the outward and inwardthrust of the switch-rails a. The chairs D with their upwardly anddownwardly extending lugs are cast integral.

The foot-chairs H are similar to the headchairs D above described, withthe exception of the upwardly-extending lugs e and g. The lugs F on thefoot-chairs, however, extend entirely across the plate, and serve, bymeans of draw-bolts h, to. bind the adjacent ends of the switch and mainrails, which lie snugly in contact with one side thereof, to thecheckrail or girder I. The check-rails or girders I are of equal lengthwith the switch-rails, and

are located on the outside of the switch-rails,

they are secured by fish-plates 1'. Constructing the switch and checkrails of equal length obviates cutting, drilling, and hacking whenputting in the switch. The opposite ends of the rails I are secured tothe lugs F on the foot-chairs, as before observed. The rails I arespiked to the cross-ties throughout their entire length, to prevent themfrom buckling in case of great compression. The check-rails or girdersI, thus secured to the chairs,form rigid connections which will notadmit of an opening between the ends of the switch-rails and main rails,and, what is more important,

will not admit of the creeping together of the main rails, and therebybinding the switchrails and rendering the switch inoperative. Thislatter movement of the main rails is particularly guarded against byconstructing the check-rails and chairs in such a manner that thecheck-rails shall abut against rigid portions of the chairs, as has beenexplained. Thus any expansion or contraction of the switch rails tendingto lengthen or shorten the same is accompanied by a corresponding eX-pansion or contraction of the check-rails, and the expansion orcontraction of the main rails is forced to exert itself in directionsaway from the switch-rails.

To compensate for any inequalities in the length of the rails, or anyerrors in fitting, and for the expansion or contraction of theswitchrails, I provide the lug e with vertical slots is, adjoining theelongated perforations Z, in which wedges m are inserted and bearagainst the bolts Z,which connect the fish-plates i. A wedge, m, is alsoinserted between the end of the lug eand the end of the checlcrail I.The wedges m tend to draw the check-rail up to the head-chair, while thewedge m tends to force it away. These wedges should be made somewhatwider than the web of the lug 6, so that the inner faces of thefish-plates will bear against them, and when the bolts Z are drawn upwill hold the wedges in the desired "ertical adjustment.

The head and foot chairs D and H are also provided with oblongperforations 0, beneath the edges of the stationary rails, so that ifthe.

flanges of the rails are not notched a single spike may be employed, andin cases where severe strain is required the rail may be notched, and adouble spike or two spikes may be driven in the same hole. a

The chairs, check-rails, and switch-rails, constructed and arranged asset forth above, form a convenient, safe, and economical combination,well adapted to all the ordinary pur poses of a railroad-switch.

The foot-chairs may be constructed with a lug corresponding tothe lug eon the headchairs to form a more perfect stop for the foot of thecheck-rail, and, in climates where the changes of temperature are great,this construction may be the more advisable one; hence I do not wish tobe understood as limiting myself strictly to the construction herein setforth,but reserve the privilege of ing such changes as fairly fallwithin the splrit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railway-switch, the combination, with head and foot chairs, theformer provided with lugs e, of check rails or girders rigidly securedto the foot-chairs and to the lugs of the head-chairs, substantially asset forth.

2. In a railwayswitch, the combination, with head-chairs provided withlugs for securing the main and turn-out rails rigidly thereto, andfurther provided with elongated abutments, and foot-ohairs provided withlugs for securing the main and switch rails thereto, of check-railsfirmly secured to the foot-chairs and to the abutment of thehead-chairs, substantially as set forth.

3. In a railway-switch, the combination, with head and foot chairsprovided with depending flanges adapted to engage the sides of the headand foot blocks, and further provided with lugs for securing the mainrails, turn-out and switch rails thereto, of checkrails abutting againstportions of the chairs and secured to the chairs, whereby the distancebetween the head and foot chairs is invariably in the same ratio to thelength of the switch-rails, substantially as set forth.

4. In a railway-switch, a head-chair consisting, essentially, of a fiatplate provided with an elongated slotted abutment or lug for connectingacheck-rail thereto, with an upward- ]y-extending lug for connecting themain rail and turn-out thereto, and with stops for determining theoutward and inward thrusts of the switch-rail, substantially as setforth.

5. In a railway-switch, a chair consisting of a flat metal plateprovided with depending flanges or lugs adapted to embrace the edges ofthe head-bl.ock, and with upwardly-extending lugs and an abutment, e,constructed in the manner and for the purpose substantially as setforth.

6. In a railway switch, the combination, with head and foot chairs, theformer having elongated slotted abutments thereon, and means forconnecting the switch-rails to said chairs, of check-rails of equallength with the switch-rails, and adapted to abut against and be securedto the abutments on the head-chairs, and be rigidly secured to thefoot-chairs, substantially as set forth.

7. In a railway-switch, the combination, with the head and foot chairs,switch-rails, and check-rails, of lugs formed on the head chairs or headand foot chairs, adapted to form abutments for the check-rails,fish-plates or their equivalent connecting the lugs and checkrails, andwedges inserted in slots or recesses formed in the lugs for adjustingthe relative positions of the cheek-rails and chairs, sub- In testimonywhereof I have signed this stantially as set forth. specification in thepresence of two subscrlb- 1o 8. In a railway-switch, a chair provideding witnesses. with seats for the main switch and check 5 rails, andfurther provided with oblong perforations for receiving one or twospikes, as Witnesses: the strain may require, substantially as set W. T.HUME, forth. N. D. SUMoN.

JOHN RITTENHOUSE STEPHENS.

